Centre introduces bills for SC, ST in Jammu & Kashmir in Lok Sabha

The Centre on Wednesday introduced two bills in Lok Sabha pertaining to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in Jammu and Kashmir.

Amid sloganeering by the Opposition over the Manipur issue, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dr Virendra Kumar introduced the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order Bill 2023, while Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda introduced the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill 2023.

The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order Bill 2023 seeks to include the Valmiki community as a synonym of Chura, Bhangi, Balmiki, and Mehtar in the list of Scheduled Castes of Jammu and Kashmir.

While the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill 2023 aims to revise the list of Scheduled Tribes of Jammu and Kashmir.